Prescribed burning linked to lower wildfire losses [AU]Friday 4 Sep 2026
The researchers used a novel meta-analysis approach to compare the long-term effects of different levels of prescribed burning on total fire, the area burnt by wildfire, loss of human life and house loss. The analysis found an inverse relationship between the proportion of a region treated with prescribed fire and the area subsequently burnt by wildfire. However, there was no such relationship where the mean annual area prescribed burnt was less than 4%. WA had by far the highest level of prescribed burning, averaging 9.2% of the region each year, compared with 1.9% in Vic and 0.7% in NSW. The study found this higher level of burning was associated with a substantially lower proportion of the region being burnt by wildfire, as well as significantly fewer wildfire deaths and house losses. Per capita, wildfire deaths were 18 times higher in Vic and five times higher in NSW than in WA. The researchers attribute the increasing extent and severity of wildfires over the past two decades, particularly in southeast Australia, primarily to inadequate fuel management and a changing climate. They argue that, in a warming and drying climate unlikely to stabilise for many decades, fuel management needs to be intensified both near valued assets and across the broader landscape. Their analysis suggests that, in forest regions, at least 5-8% of the landscape should be prescribed burnt each year to reduce the area burnt by wildfire and help reduce wildfire losses. Read the full research paper (PDF) Source: John N. Cameron, David R. Packham, Glen A. Kile and Neil D. Burrows --(2022)2.jpg) | ||
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